Rotten Banana Peels and Bad Decisions

I did something yesterday that I’m willing to bet none of you have ever done before.

I pulled a rotten banana peel out of my purse.

And no, I wasn’t performing a magic trick.

Before you pass judgment, let me present my defense, then you can judge me as harshly as you see fit.

My daughter graduated this past Friday night. The graduation ceremony took place in our high school stadium, and it was packed!!!

I had my toddler in tow, and if you know toddlers, they’re always hungry, so I brought several snacks along to the graduation. One of those snacks included a banana.

As a side note, I’m convinced said toddler is part monkey, due to his love and ability to climb on everything in sight, his loud noises that resemble that of a monkey, and also, because he would eat as many bananas in any given day that I would allow him to eat.

You see where I’m going with this?

But who puts a banana peel in their PURSE?

Apparently, me.

But wait, I’m still stating my defense.

During the ceremony, I was trying to keep the toddler quiet (which is basically impossible) and right during the valedictorian’s speech, I found myself panicking and traipsing through the bleachers of the stadium with my loud monkey child, trying to get him outta there so we wouldn’t cause a huge disturbance.

As I tried to make my way out of the stadium, I felt what seemed like every head in the stadium turn to look at me and my child simultaneously, because we were, in fact, causing a huge disturbance.

My face is probably still a little red.

Fast forward to the end of the ceremony. I was ready to go onto the football field to congratulate my new graduate and began gathering all my things.

That’s when I saw the banana peel.

During the hustle of trying to get my noisy toddler out of the stadium, the peel had fallen on the ground beside where I was sitting.

At this point, my husband had already taken the monkey baby - and monkey baby’s bag - with him in an attempt to rescue me, so I was left with only my purse.

My first instinct was definitely not to put the peel in my purse. However, the crowd was moving slowly because everyone else in the stadium was trying to make their way to the field at the same time. So, rather than carrying the squishy, sticky banana peel in my hand down to the field, I stuck it inside my purse and made a mental note to throw it away in the first trash can I spotted.

Now, let me just say that when I attempt to make a mental note instead of an actual note, it vaporizes almost immediately.

This brings me to yesterday. I stopped to put gas in my car, reached into my purse to grab my wallet, and noticed a rank smell about the same time my hand came in contact with the rotten banana peel which had made its way to the very bottom of my purse.

GROSS!

The mental note I’d made the Friday before came screaming back to me, as I pulled the already biodegrading object from my bag.

I tossed the peel in the trash and couldn’t help but laugh at my mishap.

Okay, so you’re probably wondering if I even have a point in sharing this ridiculous story, right?

You know I always do.

Sometimes, we find ourselves in precarious situations, and we make a bad decision with a good intention. And sometimes, that decision later ends up blowing up (or rotting) in our faces.

But life is messy, ya’ll.

It’s unpredictable, and sometimes our very best laid plans just don’t work out the way we intended. When this happens, we have two choices.

1. We can beat ourselves up, stress over our decision, and agonize over the mess that’s left in the wake.

Or,

2. We can own our mistake, learn the lesson, and promptly clean up the mess.

I prefer option 2.

So, the next time you find a metaphorical rotten banana peel in the bottom of your purse, please give yourself some grace, and remember, I found an actual one in mine.

Love, Christie